the fluid remaining when the fat is removed by churning cream into butter. It was formerly used as a beverage, but today it is mostly condensed or dried for use in the baking and frozen desserts industry. It has been replaced as a beverage by cultured buttermilk, which is prepared from skim or low-fat milk by fermentation with bacteria that produces lactic acid. The resulting product is thicker than traditional buttermilk but is similar to it in other respects.

Cultured buttermilk, like skim milk, consists mainly of water (about 90 percent), the milk sugarlactose (about 5 percent), and the protein casein (about 3 percent). Buttermilk made from low-fat milk contains small quantities (up to 2 percent) of butterfat. In both low-fat and nonfat buttermilk, some of the lactose is converted by the bacteria into lactic acid, which gives the milk a slightly sour taste and makes it easier to digest by lactose-intolerant consumers. The high numbers of live bacteria organisms are also thought to provide other healthful and digestive benefits.

Look at other dictionaries:

Buttermilk — But ter*milk , n. The milk that remains after the butter is separated from the cream. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

buttermilk — 1520s, from BUTTER (Cf. butter) + MILK (Cf. milk). Deceptively named, it is what remains after the butter has been churned out … Etymology dictionary

buttermilk — ► NOUN ▪ the slightly sour liquid left after butter has been churned … English terms dictionary

buttermilk — [but′ərmilk΄] n. 1. the liquid left after butter has been churned from milk 2. a commercially prepared milk drink made by adding bacteria to sweet skim milk … English World dictionary

Buttermilk — For other uses, see Buttermilk (disambiguation) Buttermilk (right) compared to fresh milk (left). Notice the thickness from the trails left behind on the glass. Buttermilk, low fat … Wikipedia

buttermilk — noun a) The liquid left over after producing butter from full cream milk by the churning process, also called traditional buttermilk. b) Cultured buttermilk, a fermented dairy product produced from cows milk, with a characteristically sour taste … Wiktionary

buttermilk — [[t]bʌ̱tə(r)mɪlk[/t]] N UNCOUNT Buttermilk is the liquid that remains when fat has been removed from cream when butter is being made. You can drink buttermilk or use it in cooking … English dictionary

buttermilk — Trucker slang for Any beer as in When I get home I m gonna get me some buttermilk … Dictionary of automotive terms

buttermilk — noun Date: 15th century 1. the liquid left after butter has been churned from milk or cream 2. cultured milk made by the addition of suitable bacteria to sweet milk … New Collegiate Dictionary